Renewal
by Jacquin
Summary: Fred and Wesley centered, alternative ending to Sleep Tight in which Fred finds out about the prophecy and starts a very different chain of events. (References to Sleep Tight and Waiting in the Wings.


1 Renewal  
  
By Jacquin  
  
"Wesley," Fred whispered urgently whilst tugging on his arm, "I need to talk to you." Without giving him time to respond she pulled him into his office and shut the door behind her. Wesley couldn't do anything more than look at her, full of concern, as she checked to make sure all the blinds were closed. She was clearly distressed and he was torn between pushing her to find out what wrong so he could make it better quicker, or letting her tell him when she was comfortable. He didn't have to make the decision though; Fred got straight to the point as soon as she was sure the room was secure.  
  
"Wesley, I know." she blurted out.  
  
There was a silence as they both considered the implications of what she had just said. Wesley thought about playing dumb, pretending he had no idea she was talking about his plan to take Connor and disappear to protect both the child and Angel from an unthinkable fate. Part of him wished that he could protect her by concealing the information. But he knew she could read his eyes in exactly the same way he could read hers and that now those three words had been said they were in it together. Truthfully, he was relieved to know she was going to be with him, that he wasn't going to have to say goodbye.  
  
He took a deep breath and broke the silence.  
  
"I'm sorry…" he started but Fred interrupted,  
  
"There's no use being sorry now, what's done is done. You should have told me but you didn't. I'm sure you had your reasons but that fact remains that this is not something you should be going through alone. So it's a good thing that I figured it out. I bet you haven't even planned where you're going; if we're gonna go, we need a place to go to."  
  
Wesley looked down, "I haven't found the right place yet." he responded a little sheepishly. Then he quickly looked up at her again, several questions springing to his mind at once.  
  
"How did you figure out I was planning to leave? And what about you and Gunn? You won't be able to tell him that we're leaving."  
  
A look of confusion crossed Fred's features. "Me and Gunn? Why would you think…? Oh Wes," realization dawned on her and she reached to put her hand on his arm.  
  
"The ballet… There's nothing going on between me and Gunn."  
  
"But I saw…"  
  
"You saw a kiss, that's true, but that wasn't me and it wasn't Gunn either. We figure it was those poor lovers finally saying their goodbyes. I'm glad I was a part of it but truthfully, I would have preferred it if you had been there instead of Gunn."  
  
When they realized what she had just said they both blushed red and Fred quickly turned the subject to his first question.  
  
"So how did I figure it out? Well you've been miserable for weeks now and it got too hard for me to just stand by and watch, so I started tracing your steps to find out what was wrong. Once I read the prophecy it wasn't hard to figure out what the possible options would be and I could read it in your eyes which option you had chosen.  
  
Wesley smiled a little; she could feel their connection too.  
  
"So Miss Detective, what now?" he asked her.  
  
"Now," she replied, "You get packed and I get organized. I know exactly where we're going but it may take a little time to arrange it. We just need to be ready to go as soon as the time comes."  
  
"And where is it exactly that we're heading to?"  
  
"I think it's probably best if you don't know right now. You're just going to have to trust me." She told him.  
  
"I do." he responded immediately.  
  
"Good," she said as she moved towards the door. Just before she opened it she turned back to him. "I'll handle everything, you just make sure you pack your sunscreen."  
  
And with that Fred exited, although not before enjoying the look of surprise that crossed Wesley's face at her final instruction.  
  
***  
  
Fred had managed to work out the details of their relocation relatively quickly considering the magnitude of what she was attempting. However, since her chosen destination was international, some time was necessary to organize the required documentation. Wes had posed no problem whatsoever in this respect; he was a British citizen with a valid passport. Even her own passport hadn't been too much trouble. The old one had expired, five years in Pylea was not very conducive to travel, however renewing it had been a simple enough process. It was the papers for Connor which had been the most difficult to obtain. Even so, Fred had been in LA for a while now, and with the company she kept it would have been impossible for her to not to have made at least a few contacts. One such contact had been extremely helpful with this particular matter and within four weeks all three of them had the necessary documentation for travel.  
  
When it came down to it, Fred felt the most difficult part of her plan had been trying to come up with an acceptable reason why she and Connor should stay at Wesley's on the night they intended to leave. However, the problem had resolved itself with Cordy having a vision for a case that would require Lorne's expertise, leaving Fred as babysitter. Unbeknownst to them, as the AI team left the hotel Fred studied them for what was to be the final time. She was grateful for what they had all done for her, but she realized she wasn't sad to be leaving them. She had a new life to look forward to and in many ways she was glad that they were not going to be a part of it. After waiting half an hour to make sure no-one was coming back for some forgotten object, she collected together all of Connor's necessities, then gave Wes a call.  
  
"It's time to go." she told him.  
  
  
  
He was there in minutes. Fred had already arranged the taxi, which was packed and waiting when he got there. He added his belongings to the boot, and then entered the hotel to where Fred and Connor were waiting for him. Wesley picked up Connor in his bassinet with one hand and reached for Fred's hand with the other. Together they took the first steps away from their old lives and towards their new ones.  
  
***  
  
The airport was crowded and Connor had begun fussing, so Wesley had stood back from the counter while Fred was checking in. When she was done she took his hand again and started walking with such purpose that Wes didn't bother to ask exactly which gate they were headed to. It wasn't until they were actually seated on the plane that he realized he still had no idea where they were going. He turned to ask Fred but didn't want to bother her when he saw she was making sure both she and Connor were comfortable for the journey ahead. He instead turned his attention to the captain's announcements. The welcomes were routine, as were the safety instructions. It wasn't until the very end that Wesley heard what he was looking for.  
  
"The local time in Sydney is a little after 4 pm, Friday."  
  
Sydney? Australia? Wesley was stunned, it seemed as though their new beginning was going to be newer than even he had anticipated. 


End file.
